A bit light for this blog, but… ESA has posted an explainer video for the RAMSES mission: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2025/10/Ramses_ESA_s_mission_to_rendezvous_with_asteroid_ApophisRamses: ESA’s mission to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis 13/10/2025 This week marks three and a half years until the Apophis flyby of Earth;… Read More »See RAMSES Teaser
Still time to apply for the Schweickart Prize. For early-career workers in planetary defense, there’s a nice award, with money: UPCOMING SCHWEICKART PRIZE STUDENT WEBINARS ON OCTOBER 15 & 16 “The winner will receive a $10,000 USD cash award, a… Read More »Schweickart Prize Online Guide Next Week
Not news, but ESA’s Hera mission to Didymos/Dimorphos after the DART impact has launched and is on track. Based on good performances from all propulsion systems, mission managers expect to encounter the target asteroids earlier than first planned. Arrival is… Read More »Hera Update, Oct 2025
No, not the singular small body- ATLAS the network of telescopes. Javier Licandro, well-known in small-body/Solar System science, gave a talk last week on ATLAS Teide, the fifth and newest node of the ATLAS network of asteroid-search observatories. This ATLAS… Read More »ATLAS Canarias Expansion, Unpacked
In the current (4 Oct) issue of New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2498319-nasas-asteroid-deflection-test-had-unexpected-and-puzzling-outcome/Alex Wilkins 1 October 2025 NASA’s asteroid deflection test had unexpected and puzzling outcome As one might expect from New Scientist, this is an accessible take on a scientific work. The… Read More »Dimorphos Debris Motion
Time for the Oct. Astronomical Journal (vol. 170 #4): Wang, B. Duan, X. Huang, F. et al. Simulation Analysis of Kinetic Impact Effects on Near-Earth Asteroid Defense Mission Using Precise Orbit Determination 224 adfc5cIngebretsen, C. Bolin, B. T. Jedicke, R. Apache… Read More »Note, Paper: Impact Track/Facts
This is already out, but in case you missed it… The solicitation for the 2026 Schweickart Prize has been announced. The Prize, named after Apollo astronaut and B612 Foundation co-founder Rusty Schweickart, is for a graduate student or recent postdoc… Read More »2026 Schweickart Prize Now Open
Just posted by JAXA: a polite but thorough debunking of a conspiracy theory. In Japanese culture, a rumor/viral media suggested a catastrophe, to occur on July 5. Admittedly, Japanese culture is marked by catastrophes (ask any geologist… or tropical-cyclone meteorologist).… Read More »JAXA Lays Down the Landscape
In the current issue of MIT Technology Review (Sep/Oct, vol. 128 #5): Tereza Pultarova p. 12 Job titles of the future: Satellite Streak AstronomerRobin George Andrews p. 42 Inside the hunt for the most dangerous asteroid ever Yes, we have… Read More »MIT Tech Review Times Two
We have another Space Science Reviews meta-mega-paper. In vol. 221, posted 17 Sep 2025: Näsilä, A. Kohout, T. Boselli, M. et al. The Asteroid Spectral Imager (ASPECT) on the Milani CubeSat Art 86 s11214-025-01193-3 The Hera mission to Didymos/Dimorphos is… Read More »Space Science Reviews Milani-ASPECT